SP True Stories: Above and beyond delayed reward

(personal testimony)

Many times, in the middle 90s, our family served in a church about an hour away from where we lived.  We loved the church and had lots of friends there.  But I can’t remember ever receiving any significant financial honorarium for our times of serving.  We weren’t concerned, since we loved the people and loved serving alongside them.

Years later, that church disbanded.  In the liquidation proceedings they decided to disperse their assets through a foundation which handles distribution of estates and trusts, etc.  The church chose several tax-exempt ministries to receive their assets.  We had no idea that this was happening, but to our complete and great surprise, we were selected as one of the beneficiaries.  This foundation sent us scheduled quarterly payments for seven years… the total amount of which, far surpassed any potential honorariums we would have received from that church.

Part of this unexpected blessing can be attributed to the principle of sowing and reaping, but the cleanest part about it is that we weren’t concerned about the payback.  Our serving was “as unto our Lord”. (Eph 6:7)

It’s been about 25 years since our involvement with that church and those quarterly payments stopped nearly 10 years ago.  But just recently we received another check for over $6K from that same foundation.  Completely unexpected, without adequate explanation, very timely and totally appreciated!

Our Great Banker saw our labors of love in that church many years ago.  He saw and never forgot.  His timing is perfect.  His care and over-the-top blessing system is the very best!  Thank you, Father!!!!

— MLH

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Have you experienced the shift, yet?

There’s a very encouraging shift taking place in the prayer vocabulary of the saints.  I think that it’s because we’re growing up.  More than at any other time in history, we’re becoming aware of our elevated identity and favor in God.  Our new upgrade is contrasted by our past vocabulary, where we used just launch our immature plaintiff petitions before our Father with little regard or responsibility for our language or position.  Consider this:

1) Babies and plaintiffs don’t know their Father’s mind… they cry/pray out of their pain and need.
2) Mature sons know and are gripped with Father’s heart, more than their own needs.

I believe that our Father has always dreamed of a company of saints emerging on the earth, who know that they are truly kings (Rev 1:6) possessing a kingly authority that literally shifts atmospheres and calls our Father’s will into being on the earth.  As saints mature, this kind of praying will become more commonplace, more effective and more contagious, creating desire in others to discover their identity and favor, too!

You may be asking, “Then what or how should we pray?”  The simple answer is, “Pray what’s on His mind!”  That seems easy… and most would probably agree… but few will take the time to find His mind… or know how.  So here’s a simple approach to find out how to pray:

1) Look to the Word of God to find His will
2) Identify the rhema ‘words’ that have been made ‘alive’ to you.

Note: Almost everything we would normally ask for, has already been promised or addressed in Scripture.

To ask again after He has already promised it, is redundant and actually robs our faith.  Now is the time for the sons of God to radically believe that God’s Word really means what it says… and then begin to co-rule with Him by using declarations that are becoming of kings. 

This ‘kingly’ type of intercession by mature sons is empowered by our favored position in Heaven (Col 3:1-3).  (More in this post) From our ‘new address’, we declare the mind of God down into the earth… and into the (second heavens) atmosphere. (See this graphic) We stand as kings (versus babies or plaintiffs) and move into our role as maturing co-rulers (Rms 5:17) with Christ.

To carry the authority of Heaven sufficient to shift earthly paradigms, we must spend time with our Father and search His mind in order to be confident that we’re not “praying amiss”.  If we pray from the opinions or desires of our soul-man, it makes us vulnerable and in jeopardy of wandering outside the ‘covering’ of Father’s grace… or worse.  We must become more responsible for what we pray and how we pray… because our words are spirit and life (Prov 18:21)… and as we mature, our words have more weight and impact.

In this process, we’re beginning to learn how to govern and take dominion (Gen 1:26, 28; Dan 7:27; Lk 10:19; Rms 5:17) over our God-given territory (which is earth and the second heavens).  Since we’ve been raised and seated with Christ, we have a much better vantage point to govern!  We’re not just mere humans any longer, praying loud desperate prayers.  We’re not praying in hopes that Heaven will relent.  We’re not plaintiffs.  Rather, we’re duly authorized and empowered oracles of God speaking from Heaven… partnering with Him in establishing His Throne of righteousness on earth and in earthly situations.

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” – I Pet 4:11

Here are a few ways we can pray and still have integrity with our theology and with our current ‘heavenly address’.

1. Asking prayer… IF we don’t know our Father’s will for a matter
2. Declarative prayer… AFTER we know what our Father’s heart is

3. Thanksgiving prayer… for all His gracious acts
4. Praise prayer… for His character and nature
5. Devotional prayer… lavishing our worship and affection on Him
6. Conversational prayer… “as a friend speaks with a friend” – Ex 33:11
7. Affirming our theology… repeating our Biblical position back to God

Can you feel it?  A shift is happening.  We’re growing into our inheritance and identity as co-kings under the Great King.

— MLH

For more of my posts on this topic, click below:

Dual Realities of the Believer – (No More Pickle Juice)
Reigning Declarative Prayer: What’s the big deal?
Intercession: From faithless beggar petitions to confident kingly prophetic declarations
Time for an Upgrade: Authoritative Prayer
Proclamation prayer… it’s what Kingdom saints do
The Faith OF God to Proclaim, in the 2010s
Our New Prayer Posture: Declare / Prophesy
The Changing Face of Christianity
Grace Unto Co-reigning
Three Eras of Prayer Posture
God: “Hey! Wanna play toys in your sandbox?”

SP True Stories: Bye, bye mortgage!

(Mark & Debbie personal testimony)

Back in the early 2000s financing was easy to get… so we selected a “stated”/”no-doc” loan.  But there were all kinds of confusing financing options.  I felt the Lord led me to get a 5-year fixed, “interest-only” for 5 years HELOC, which then became an (ARM) adjustable interest rate loan.  That may seem scary, but I was trying to follow the Lord’s leading as best as I knew.  The terms stated that after 5 years, our adjustable interest rate was going to fluctuate with the national prime interest rate.  Now, what I didn’t know, was what nobody could have known at that time… this would be an amazing blessing to us!

We always paid much more than our minimum required monthly payment.  But after 5 years, the interest rate and required payments started to rise, so I called the mortgage company and indicated that I was going to ‘go shopping’ for another loan.  They volunteered to reduce our interest rate by one point… at no cost.  Thank you Lord.  So we stayed with them. 

In 2008 Americans experienced the national real estate crisis and our nation’s prime rate dropped to 3.25%… which lowered our mortgage interest to about 2%.  That’s crazy low… for the last 10 years!!!  Only God could have fore-known that our type of loan would be such a blessing to us!  Thank you God!!!  

Except for our mortgage, we have had no outstanding debt of any kind, for about 15 years.  During this time, we were believing God for supernatural provision to provide for “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (II Pet 1:3).  including our mortgage paid off.  We even received prophecies that we were going to be mortgage free.

It’s now year 17 of our 30 year mortgage, with just over $11K remaining on our loan.  We were only about one year from paying it off… 12 years earlier than required.  Now here’s the latest fun development in this story…

Earlier this year someone asked about the balance remaining on our mortgage.  Shortly thereafter, they gave us the full amount to pay it off.  WOW!!!  So much fun!!!

Thank you God, for Your amazing care and provision!  Your ways are truly higher than our ways.

— MLH